TOPIC: How important are additional tokens for new groups

I will be corralling a group of 8 of us first timers through the dungeon this year, doing puzzle-her majesty. How Helpful would an extra lot of 10 bags of tokens be for our party?

Scale of 1 to 10 where:
1 = tokens are a glory item and not necessary.
10 = tokens enable all of the best content.

First time playing, tokens are not that important especially on a puzzle run. That said it is really nice for most to have a weapon. Wizards (though VERY squishy) can produce a fair amount of damage with zero tokens. I also like the monk with no tokens though the two handed slide mechanic can be tricky for some new players.

Actually I have found some folks get overwhelmed with the tokens their first time playing. So though an extra 10 bags would be helpful (that is how I played my first time well) but it is not needed.

I wouldn't worry to much about extra tokens (especially on puzzle). As long as everyone had a basic weapon (which your coach can help with if you don't get an appropriate one in your starter pack) you'll be fine for normal.

I don't think I've ever heard of content being gated behind token requirements.

Tokens mostly help with combat, but you can get through combat with your 10 packs and a little token swapping (many groups can speak to that). Tokens are less useful in other aspects of the dungeon. What you need for that is a brain. As long as those aren't in short supply, you'll do fine...

Jedi, do veteran players typically prefer combat runs? In pen and paper RPG's, it tends to swing even between combat preferential players and puzzle/RP players.

Also, can some of the more experienced players talk about success rates for the most difficult modes and the type of gear their party brings to succeed?

With a group of mostly newbies running on only the free 10-packs of tokens that you receive in the coaching room I'd say you'll most likely fail to defeat some monsters before running out of time. Additionally you may have some fatalities in the party before room #7.

If it is important for you to kill every monster then a small amount of extra tokens will help. You don't need to spend a ton of money though.

If death is a concern then also some extra tokens will help. But you could also play on non-lethal mode if the whole group of 10 agrees. In this mode if somebody dies in a room they come back to life when they leave that room. On normal mode if you die then you are a "ghost" through the rest of the dungeon. You get to watch but you can't help (even verbally). On Normal mode it is likely some people will die in the final room which I think is just fine since you don't miss out on much.

I'd say your options are as follows:

• Show up to the coaching room with no tokens and have the expectation that you won't defeat every monster and some of you will die. Pros: least expensive option, no preparation required. Cons: might be a bit of a rush to build characters for the first time in the coaching room (show up 30min early minimum if you do this), some players might not like dying and failing.
• Buy one or two 10-packs in advance and show up to the dungeon with at least an idea of what your build will be, and then adjust it slightly based on what's in the free 10-packs. Pros: less stress in the coaching room (you'll know a bit about tokens beforehand), greater chance of success, and if your group is all local it can be a fun evening to get together and build these characters. Cons: more time and money to prepare
• Buy a pre-built character or buy individual tokens to build a solid character ahead of time. Pros: no stress in the coaching room as your character is already complete, very good chance for complete success in the dungeon. Cons: costs money and time, you miss out on the fun of building a character with a limited set of tokens. Disclaimer: my store sells pre-built characters but I'm trying to be impartial about your options here.

Josh wrote: Jedi, do veteran players typically prefer combat runs? In pen and paper RPG's, it tends to swing even between combat preferential players and puzzle/RP players.

It's a mix - but in True Dungeon tokens are generally more useful in combat than in solving puzzles, so lots of players who enjoy collecting tokens prefer combat, as it allows them to use their tokens.

There is a fair amount of ovarlap between the puzzle and combat variant, typically 2 of the 7 rooms differ.

Most veterans have moderate to large token collections, and like to use them. Combat is where that happens, so many prefer it. But, many veterans run all four versions of the dungeons, plus Grind, so I'm not sure "favorite" enters into it all the time.

In many ways, asking the forum if you should get more tokens is like walking into a bar and asking if you should have a drink, but Jedi is right. You don't "need" extra tokens to play on normal. If you want to spend some money, then for the cost of two 10-packs you should be able to get 8 rare +1 weapons, one for each of you. That extra +1 hit and damage can help end combats a little faster.

But that's 100% optional. If the other two people in your group turn out to be vets, they will likely lend you armor and whatnot, if you don't draw any, but very few people lend out decent weapons because they tend to walk away after the run. You'd remember to return them, I'm sure, but forgetful people spoil things for everyone.

Matthew Hayward wrote:

Josh wrote: Jedi, do veteran players typically prefer combat runs? In pen and paper RPG's, it tends to swing even between combat preferential players and puzzle/RP players.

It's a mix - but in True Dungeon tokens are generally more useful in combat than in solving puzzles, so lots of players who enjoy collecting tokens prefer combat, as it allows them to use their tokens.

There is a fair amount of ovarlap between the puzzle and combat variant, typically 2 of the 7 rooms differ.

I agree with what Matt said. Some veterans like puzzle some like combat better, but those that love tokens generally like combat.

Kirk Bauer wrote:

• Buy one or two 10-packs in advance and show up to the dungeon with at least an idea of what your build will be, and then adjust it slightly based on what's in the free 10-packs. Pros: less stress in the coaching room (you'll know a bit about tokens beforehand), greater chance of success, and if your group is all local it can be a fun evening to get together and build these characters. Cons: more time and money to prepare

Replying to my own post here. If you choose the pre-buy some 10-pack option, since you have 8 players, I highly recommend ordering the $250 pack from truedungeon.com and splitting the cost between all 8 of you (so $30/ea, or a lot less than the dungeon run ticket). You'll get 300 tokens to build your characters with AND you'll get a choice of an ultra-rare. If you don't know what ultra-rare to get, choose an Amulet of Treasure Finding which will give one of you extra treasure draws.

Also you have a chance of finding a random ultra-rare or even a golden ticket in one of the 30 10-packs you receive.

I'm not saying this is the best of the three options (like I said they all have pros and cons), but if you do choose it I'd say this is the way to go if you can afford it.

Josh wrote: Also, can some of the more experienced players talk about success rates for the most difficult modes and the type of gear their party brings to succeed?

There are 4 difficulty levels: Normal is the default, and it requires unanimous group agreement to go at a different difficulty than normal.

There is also: Non-lethal (easier than normal), Hardcore (harder), and Nightmare (much harder).

It is not uncommon to die in room 7 (the last room).

Things are oriented so that a group that is functioning well as a team can make it to room 7 on Normal using only their starter packs.

For new players, team character selection and cooperation matter a lot - if a group does not have a Cleric or Druid, or those characters do not heal other characters when their life totals get low, survivability can drop off quickly.

Combat against monsters is resolved via table-top shuffleboard, where you try to slide a puck across a table onto a space with a number 1-20 on it.

On Normal difficulty a typical monster might have an AC of 18.

Characters using common and uncommon weapons such as those found in a typical starter pack will typically have an attack bonus of between 0 and +4. This means to hit the players needs to slide between 14-18+ on the board - which is a challenge but doable.